This lesson really capitalizes on peer instruction, which is a valuable way of differentiating intervention as well as supporting Language Learners. Although a large part of the lesson is taken up with going over the last test students have the opportunity to work together on one problem that engages them in practice with percent proportions. This is still a new idea for them with all it's component skills. One way I like students to practice using new skills is to give them a problem to figure out using the skills and let them work together. The key is really letting them share ideas, try them out, make connections to prior learning, catch their own mistakes, and try something else. This process gives them a deeper understanding of the skills & concepts. I also think, because of the emotional involvement, they are more likely to retain the new knowledge and view the skill as a tool.

This warm up Warm up market research gives the results of two surveys. The first found that 360 out of 450 adults preferred a company's new drink over its old one. Students are asked to calculate the percent. Then they are given a second survey which shows that 540 out of 600 teens also prefer the new drink. Students are asked if teens like the new drink as much as adults.

As students are learning how to use percent proportions to compare it is important to get them working together,sharing their ideas, and trying out their math skills. In the videos for this section you will see students listening to each other and trying out some math. It is important not to jump in at the first sign of a mistake. You will see them persevere and take that much more pride in their accomplishment for having caught it themselves. Until they are freely sharing their ideas and trying them out the teacher may have to encourage this process by asking if anyone has any doubts or is uncertain about another's idea or by suggesting they try it out and see if it helps.

It can seem chaotic at times to allow students to work together, but you can hear that they are talking about the math and see that they take more ownership of and pride in the math they are doing. When students are working like this they tend to work hard to make themselves understood by their peers, which is very supportive of the language learners. Embrace the chaos!

Resources

I hand back the tests Ratio assessment.docx they took last week and go over it with them using an anchor paper from one of the students. We go over what was confusing, what common errors were made, and what the key factors are for each section. I also may show some examples of mistakes that were made on tests. Some of the questions I might ask would be "why can we not figure out which is greater by looking at the ratios/fractions in this form?", "what would help?", "what is hard about this problem?", etc. Ratio assessment review notes.docx

Resources

After going over the assessment with the whole class I like to give students time to look at their tests together. This gives them the opportunity to help and get help and clarify anything that I just went over with them. "What did she mean by...", "Oh, that's what she meant..." Sometimes students have a better way of explaining to each other than the teacher. This is especially true for English Language Learners.

One thing that I have noticed that increases the likelihood of peer instruction taking place is NOT putting a score on their work. I simply mark wrong answers and they are more likely to ask "What did I do wrong?", "How do I fix this?", "What did you do?"